Lost and Found
by sethsduck17
Summary: Sequel to Beginning of the End and it picks up at age sixteen for Brooke, who has some...problems of her own now. As well as discoveries to make that could change her life forever.
1. Party Hardy

a/n: hey y'all!!! thanks so much for your support and since you said i should, i'm gonna try it. so this is brooke's story. if you haven't read "beginning of the end" please do so...seeing as how this is the sequel and all...if you r&r me, i'll do it for you!!!!

Ch 1- Party Hardy

"I want to go home," the girl said walking up to her friend.

"What? Why?" she asked.

"This whole thing sucks. I lost Bryan, the music sucks, and there's nothing good," she paused while shaking a nearby Lonestar beer can for effect, "to drink."

"Well I'm not ready to go yet," her friend said defiantly.

"Fine, give me my keys."

"Ok, no. You've had one too many tequila's. See, there's nothing to drink because you drank it all."

"I did not!! And besides that, I'm fine!"  
"No you're not! Listen if you really wanna leave, go find Kristy."

"It's her party!" the first girl exclaimed.

"Not my problem!" her friend shouted back as she walked away.

"Bitch," she muttered as she left the room.

Adam closed his eyes and leaned his head back against the couch. He didn't know why he kept coming to these. One of his cousins friends knew the girl that was throwing the party and his cousin dragged him to it. As usual he was designated driver. He looked up suddenly as he heard a commotion. Some girl was getting into a fight…typical. One of them turned to walk away and almost fell in the process.

"Woah!" he exclaimed as he jumped up to catch her. She fell into his arms and looked at him for a second.

"Hi," she finally said.

"Are you ok?" he asked.

"Yeah. I'm…fine," she replied.

He just nodded, his arms still around her.

"Umm…are you gonna let me…go soon?" she asked quietly, attempting to joke on the last part.

"Oh! Sorry," he said sheepishly backing away.

"It's ok," she smiled.

"I'm Adam. Not a fan of parties but dragged every time."

"Brooke. Fan of parties, but not fan of morning after."

"Do you need a ride or something?" he asked, remembering the argument.

"Yeah. I had some tequila but I DIDN'T finish it off like Haylie said," she sighed.

"It's cool. I'm D.D. anyway."

She smiled as she took his hand and followed him to the door.

"Wait! I need to find Bryan!"

"Who?" he asked confused by the stop.

"Bryan, my boyfriend."

"Oh. Alright," he conceded, his balloon deflating.

Brooke went up and down the hallway, knocking on all the doors. Her brother Jake said he saw him up here. She _really_ hoped he was wrong.

"Bryan!" she called out as she knocked on the last door; her last attempt to find him.

"Room's taken!" a voice called as the knock sounded.

"Oh it better not be!" she said as she flung open the door. There, in bed, was her boyfriend with some girl on top of him. And no, they were not fully clothed.

"Brooke!" he yelled throwing the girl off of him.

"No…no…" she muttered as she backed up against Adam and then brushed past him trying not to cry. Bryan sighed as he lied back down. Adam just stood there, taking in the whole scene for a few seconds. Then he too turned and fled.

"Brooke? Are you ok?" he asked here when he finally caught up to her.

"I'm sorry," she said as she swiped at his eyes.

"It's ok."

Brooke just laughed bitterly. "You don't know anything about me."

"Doesn't matter. That guy's an ass," he muttered.

She gave him a small smile and he offered her his arm as they headed to his car.

"Thank you," she whispered as she got in.

Adam looked over at the girl beside him. Long brown straight hair with startling blue eyes that seemed as though they could see your insides. She wasn't skinny, she was slender. This girl actually had some meat on her bones, much unlike most of the other girls he knew.

"So…what's your story?" he asked.

"What?"

"Your story. Your background, where you're from and stuff."

"Oh. Well I'm Brooke DeWitt, I've lived here for two years. My parents…well one's a lawyer and one's military."

"So are they both here?"

"Nope. My dad got transferred to Korea. It's hard but we make do," she sighed. He just sighed.

"Take a left here," she said. He did so and she asked him the same question.

"Adam McGuire, lived here my whole life. Mom's a banker and Dad works in daycare."

"Your father?" she asked surprised.

He nodded. "He's like a big kid. It's great."

"That's cool," she smiled. "I'm that house right there."

He stopped and she opened the door. "Thanks Adam. So far, you're the best part of my night."

"Well with your boyfriend and all…"

"Yeah," she said looking down.

She turned to shut the door but he called out, "So would it be presumptuous to ask for your number?"

"Yeah. But that's cool," she said smiling again.

"I'll call you," he said grinning. She nodded as he pulled away.

"You seem happy," her mother commented as she walked in.

"I got a date!" she exclaimed.

"What about Bryan?"

"Dickweed. The asshole cheated on me," she said bitterly.

"Brooke Michelle!!"

"He is!"

"Ok, so who's this new guy?"

"A guy named Adam that gave me a ride home. He seems sweet."

"That's great honey! Does this Adam have a last name?"

"McGuire. Why, are you gonna run a background check on him or something?" she joked. Her mother dropped the plate she was carrying and looked at her daughter.

"Did you say McGuire?"

"Yeah. Why?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing! Just…an old…boyfriend," her mother stumbled.

"Ok…"

"It's nothing. Umm…why don't you go on up to your room. It's late," she said. Brooke just looked at her mom, shrugged and headed up stairs.

"Love you!"

"Love you too."

When her daughter was out of sight, she fell back on her butt. McGuire. When they adopted Brooke sixteen years ago, that had been her last name. They had changed it of course, but the father said she needed to keep her first name. They didn't argue…they just welcomed the baby girl. Now sixteen years later, she could be going out with her brother! _How am I going to tell her this one?_ Mrs. DeWitt thought wearily.


	2. Uncanny Resemblance

a/n: luvdegrassi12345-yes I know that would make him Brooke's cousin. However I was doing it from her mom's point of view. She had no idea that Lizzie died b/c Gordo never met with them. For all she knows, Gordo could be a first name and McGuire could be his last name. So yeah, I guess to forget that explanation. Thank you for reviewing my story though!!

Thank you all for reviewing!! Keep it up!! Kinda know where this going…unsure of the ending yet though. If anyone has some ideas, please let them be known!! -Nic

Ch 2- Uncanny Resemblance

David opened his eyes and groaned. It was seven a.m. on a Saturday, why the hell was he awake? He stretched as he looked around, his gaze falling on the redhead beside him. He smiled softly as he looked at her and brushed her hair lightly with his fingers. She woke up as well and looked at him sleepily.

"What time is it?"

"Too early, go back to sleep," he answered her. She nodded and fell back asleep. They had been together for ten months and he thought this one might actually be the one. He had met Caroline Andrews in his music shop one slow night. They had talked a little bit in the store and then ended up at a 55 Diner a few blocks away and ended up getting no sleep that night. Since that day they had been together and he loved her. He knew that, he told her that. However, he couldn't give his heart to Caroline. No, a pretty blonde that had been gone sixteen years stole it. Liz passed away sixteen years ago, he eventually came to terms with it, but he still felt as though he was missing a part of himself some days. He kept in touch with the McGuires from time to time, mostly on holidays, and he felt as though Jo never quite got over the whole adoption thing. He was nineteen!! He didn't know anything about bringing up a baby!! Plus, it was a girl and he named it after Lizzie…he just could not have that baby around. Sure he felt guilty for a few weeks after it, but he got over that too. Now that little baby only entered his mind once in a while. Caroline knew nothing about Brooke or Lizzie though. She thought he was just a single man out looking for a women. In actuality, David Gordon, still wasn't looking for a girlfriend. She just sorta popped up…and there they were. He lied back down in bed and stared at the ceiling going back to the previous question about why he was up so early. The store doesn't open until ten…he had nothing to do…then it hit him as he looked at his calendar. Lizzie. Today was the day, sixteen years ago, that he found her floating in the tub, dead. It was the anniversary of her suicide. It had been sixteen years, but he still took it off from work every year and went into a funk. His daughter will be seventeen today, where ever she is. He couldn't believe he almost forgot…after all, that image is kinda hard to forget. He had still had some rare nightmares from it at thirty five years old. Well not today. It had been sixteen years of grieving too long. He was done. This year would be just like a normal day for him. He was going to go the store and run it and not break down. Nope, no replays of previous years for him. Hopefully.

"Where are you going?"

"I told you, it's Brooke's birthday today!" Adam called out impatiently to his father.

"How old is she?" he asked offhand.

"Seventeen…can I go now?"

Matt nodded his head and the boy flew out the door. It had been a couple of weeks since he met that girl and he could not get her out of his mind. They talked on the phone every night and hung out a lot, but she said she wasn't ready to go out just yet. Hopefully today would be different.

"Oh my God, Andrew, where did you get this?" the brunette gasped in wonder. Her cousin just smiled at her and told her, "That's not important. What is, is that you like it."

"I love it!! Oh my Lord it's gorgeous," she sighed as she slid the ring on her finger. The ruby and diamond caught the light and she smiled. "Thank you so much!!" she exclaimed as she jumped up to hug him.

"Hey Brooke," a familiar voice came from behind.

"Adam!! You came!" she squealed and hugged him next.

"Who are you?" her brother asked protectively. This was just some guy showing up at her birthday…the family birthday, none the less. After Bryan, who Jake had successfully kicked the shit out of, he was much more protective of her with guys. And this guy looked a little…shady to him.

"I'm Adam McGuire; I live down the street."

"How come we've never seen you before?"

"Well I only met Brooke about three weeks ago at a party. We've gotten to be pretty close friends though," he added looking at her with a smile.

She nodded back at him. "Ok? So Jake, Andrew, fly away now. I'm fine!"

The two boys looked at each other and sized Adam up one more time. "If you hurt her…"

"I know. Trust me…I know. I saw Bryan last week."

"Good," Jake smiled as he hugged his sister and then left the room, cousin in tow.

"Sorry. They're a little…protective."

"It's cool. My dad would be the same way with his sister if she was still around."

"What?"

"My Aunt Liz. She died before I was born and she was older than him, but he would go to hell and back for her."

"I'm sorry…" Brooke said awkwardly.

"Don't be. I didn't even know her."  
"Right. So…what did you wanna do today?"

"Your birthday. You decide."

"Ok," she smirked. "I want to finally meet your family."  
"Now?" he asked as he coughed on his Coke.

She nodded her head affirmatively. He sighed and then got up, grabbed her hand and then pulled her out of the house with him.

"Um…hey Brooke?" he asked nervously as they got about half way down the street.

"Yeah?"

"I know you said you didn't want to…but …well…"

"Yes."

"Yes?"  
"I'd love to go out with you Adam," she smiled.

"I hoped so," he said and then stopped as they neared his house and kissed her.

"What was that for?" she asked confused.

"Well, it is your birthday and plus…I wanted to do that ever since I saw you at the party." She smiled at him and then looked up at the house. "Hope your ready for this. My family's…special…"

"Oh please and mine isn't?"

"Hey Dad!" Adam yelled out as he entered.

"In here," Matt replied as he tore his stare away from the TV.

"I want you to meet someone," he said as he entered the den with Brooke holding his hand.

"Do I finally get to meet the famous Brooke you keep telling me so much about?" he inquired.

"Yeah you do. And added bonus, now you get to meet my girlfriend too…two with one stone."

"Finally asked her out huh son?"

Adam just nodded happily as he pulled the girl into the room with him.

"Lizzie!!??" Matt gasped as he saw the girl.

"I'm sorry?" Brooke said confused.

"I'm sorry. You look almost exactly like my sister did…strangely alike…" he trailed off in thought. Gordo did give his daughter up for adoption…and her name was Brooke. In fact, that girl looked like a perfect mix between Lizzie and Gordo.

"Dad?" his son's voice cut through his thoughts.

"Huh?" Matt shook his head and looked back at the couple.

"Are you ok? You really spaced out there for a second!"

"Right. Sorry Brooke…didn't mean to…'space out' on you."

"It's ok," she said good naturedly, but he could see the confusion reigning behind her eyes.

"Is Mom home?"

"No…she went out with your aunt," he said referring to Miranda.

"Cool. Is it ok if me and Brooke just hang out until they get back?"

Matt nodded his head and turned his attention back to the old Adam Sandler movie "The Wedding Singer".

"Babe, I'm telling you, you need to come home."

"Matt!! Miranda and I are busy!"

"Listen, it's important and it's about Adam and his little girlfriend. Bring Miranda too."

"Wait, when did Adam get a girlfriend?" Melina asked tilting her head to one side.

"Today! Only I don't think she's just a girlfriend…"

"What else could they be? They're too young to elope…"

"Just get home," was the last thing he said before he hung up on his wife.

"Ok, what's the big deal?" Miranda asked Matt as they walked in. Miranda had stayed in touch with the McGuires through the years after Lizzie. At first it was painful, but it was also helpful for both of them. Miranda developed a special relationship with Matt and it ensued a slew of late night phone calls in college about the baby and what not.

"Remember Brooke?"

"Who?" she demanded.

"Lizzie's daughter Brooke!"

"Matt…" Miranda said. She hated talking about her old friend. It was really painful and not pleasant on the mind.

"No, when was her birthday?"

"Why?"

"Just tell me!"

"Today. Same day Lizzie…"

"Died," Melina threw in for the first time. She loved Lizzie, yes, but wasn't afraid to talk about her like everyone else was.

"Yeah. That," Miranda nodded pointing her finger at her friend and nodding.

"Shit," Matt said raking his hands through his hair.

"What's going on?" both of the women asked.

"Mom? Is that you?" Adam called down the stairs.

"Yeah!"

All the sudden two pairs of feet sounded coming down the stairs.

"Get ready," Matt muttered to them.

"For what?" Miranda asked still confused.

"Mom, Aunt Miranda, this is my girlfriend Brooke," the young man said as Brooke stepped out from behind him.

"Holy shit!" Melina whispered. Miranda just fell back against the table and stared. Talk about eerie!! This girl had Lizzie's bone structure and figure and hair with Gordo's eyes and hair color. If she didn't know any better she could've swore she was looking at her two old friends daughter.

"For that," Matt said.


	3. Time For A Change

a/n: ok major thanks is due to Amanda who emailed me about this story and therefore prompted to put it up, I hope that this is what you've been looking for somewhat ). I've been having some writers block with this story but I almost have the next chapter done….so I'll try to finish that soon. As always r&r! -nic

Ch 3- Time for a Change

"Gordo, I'm telling you-it's her!"

"Who?" he asked bewildered.

"Brooke."

That name hit Gordo like a bullet. He only knew one person with that name…

"Gordo? Are you still there?"

"Yeah," he whispered. "How…when…"

"My son's dating her believe it or not," Matt said with a chuckle.

"Wait a minute. I haven't talked to you in like three years. All the sudden you call me saying that you found my illegitimate child?"

"I know it seems shady but-"

"Seems? What the hell did she do? Just show up at your house?" he asked unbelievingly.

"Actually-that's exactly what happened," Matt said softly.

"Fuck you, ok McGuire. You call me today of all days and throw this fabricated shit in my face? Fuck you," he said as he hung up.

Matt sighed and leaned against the counter. Miranda and his wife looked at him expectantly.

"Well?"

"Just forget it ok? He thinks I'm bullshitting him. Brooke turned out to be just fine," he said as he walked away.

"No," Miranda said stepping up.

Matt turned back around to face the girl that was practically his sister.

"Brooke may be fine, but she deserves to now her real father."

"Alright fine. What if she doesn't want to see him?"

"She doesn't have to! But she deserves to know. Matt, that's Lizzie's daughter, she's your niece!"

"I know Miranda, but am I supposed to do?"

"I don't know. But sit on this for me Matthew; your son is going out with his cousin and making out her."

"You know, she does have a point," Melina said after that.

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"What do you think of blondes" Brooke asked later on that night as she flipped through a magazine.

"Huh?" Adam returned, tearing his gaze away from the TV.

"Blondes. What do you think?"

"Of them or you as one?"

"Both," she said decisively.

He thought for a second. "In general they're ok. I mean loud and obnoxious, but that's only some of them. As for you…" he squinted his eyes. "I dunno. I mean you might look good…why?"

"I was thinking about it," she answered.

He smiled and leaned over to kiss her. "I think you look great as you are."

She kissed him back. "You have to say that."

"Eh…true true…"

She swatted at him laughing as her mom walked in.

"What's going on?"

"Nothing, Adam's being a jerk!" she said jokingly.

He kissed her and shrugged his shoulders good naturedly. Her mother fidgeted around a little, not wanting to see them kissing.

"Umm, Adam. It's getting kind of late, why don't you head on home?" she spoke up.

The two teenagers looked at each other and he slowly got up. "Oh…ok. I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Mrs. DeWitt," he said walking out.

"Mom! What was that!"

"Nothing! It's just getting kind of late."

"It's 10. you don't even consider going to bed until like 1."

The older women just sighed as she sat down next to her daughter. "I just…don't know if it's such a good idea-"

"You don't like him. I knew it!" Brooke said standing up.

"No! Adam's great! It's just…I don't think…he's right for you," her mother replied choosing her words carefully.

"Why not? Tell me why mom!" Brooke yelled getting upset.

Mrs. DeWitt got up and started to walk out of the room. "I'm not doing this right now."

"Why not Mom? You already told me he's not good enough, why not keep going!"

Her mother ignored that comment and kept on moving.

"UGH!" he daughter yelled as she stomped up the stairs. As soon as she heard the door slam, Rachel DeWitt collapsed at the kitchen table and just cried.

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"Tell me again why you're doing this?" Hailey asked the next day as Brooke held out different boxes of hair color for comparison.

"For a change. Plus my mom's pissing me off. Now pick one!"

The redhead sighed and picked a honey gold color and handed it to the teenager.

"Let's go, I wanna be done by the time he comes to pick me up!" Brooke urged.

"What time is that?"

The soon to be blonde looked at her watch. "Two hours, now let's move."

Two hours later Brooke stood uncertainly in front of her mirror, fingering her new golden tresses. Hailey had left a half hour before but insisted that she looked hot. The door bell rang and she sighed, a little nervous. This would be the test.

"Wow," Adam stood speechless as he looked at his girlfriend in the doorway.

"What?" she shifted uncomfortable.

"Nothing! You just look so….damn," he muttered the last part, his eyes never leaving her.

"Was that a good damn or a bad damn?"

"I'll have to keep all the guys away with a stick!" he exclaimed as he kissed her.

Her face broke out in a grin and she exited the house.

"So where exactly are we going?" she asked.

"Music shop in town a little ways. They're supposed to have the new Rob Thomas CD early somehow."

She rolled her eyes at her boyfriend and settled in for the half hour drive.


	4. The truth part 1

Chapter Four- The Truth part one

The door opened and Rachel stood there looking at the boy that was obviously Adam's father.

"Can I help you?" he asked pleasantly.

"I'm Rachel DeWitt," she said sticking out her hand.

Realization dawned on Matt that this was Brooke's adoptive mother and he put on a smile and ushered her in.

"You're Brooke's mom."

She nodded. "I was wondering if you by chance knew where my daughter was. She ran off because we got into a fight…"

Matt was silent for a minute as he rolled over that this strange women was calling his niece their daughter.

"Oh…I think she went with Adam into town for a CD or something. Would you like to sit down and wait? I'm not sure how long they'll be but…"

"Umm…sure…" she said hesitantly. She knew that this was Brooke's uncle, she wasn't stupid. She just felt a little…strange 'hanging out' with him. Sitting gingerly on the couch she looked up at the mantle and saw a picture of a girl with golden hair with a big smile on her face sitting next to a boy with a mop full of curls. That was them. Those were Brooke's parents. She knew without a doubt in her mind…hell her daughter looked exactly like them!

Matt noticed her gaze and smiled briefly. "That's Liz. She died…"

"She's Brooke's biological mother," Rachel added softly.

Matt just nodded silently.

"Well I think we have to do something here. They're family, they can't be going out with each other," she said randomly.

He looked at her for a minute before realizing what she was talking about. "Yeah my best friend and wife said the same thing. But how do we tell two teenagers not to see each other. You know as well as I do that that'll only make them want to see each other more," he laughed a little bit.

"I know. I tried to tell her last night but she just blew up at me. And now she's run off," she sighed.

"Well if she's anything like Liz, she'll come back and act like nothing happened."

An uncomfortable silence followed until the door opened and Rachel could hear two women chattering happily.

"Matt?"

"In here!" he called back.

Two women, one Latina with long black hair and one with short blonde hair entered the room.

"Miranda, Mel, this is Rachel DeWitt. Brooke's mom," he said delicately.

Miranda caught her breath and tried to smile at the women but it instead came across as a close to grimace.

"I hate to go…but I have stuff to do at home…" she said lamely as she started for the door.

The couple just nodded as Miranda nodded her head at Rachel. "Nice to meet you," she said as she closed the door. Rachel looked back at the two and sighed inwardly. This wasn't going to be easy…and it sure as hell wasn't going to get more comfortable.

* * *

"Honey we've looked everywhere! It's not here!" Brooke said exasperated.

"Brooke, they said that they'd have it. So it has to be here," Adam said as she started to rifle through the same collection of CD's for the fourth time.

"Look here's a bright idea. How about asking the guy behind the counter. Wow, what a concept!" she said sarcastically as he waved her off.

"Can I help you?" the guy asked as the girl approached.

"Yeah my boyfriend is dead set on the fact that you guys have the Rob Thomas CD and until he either finds it or gets a handwritten note saying that it's not here, I get the feeling we'll be here all night."

The guy just laughed. "Yeah we should have it," he said looking up at the girl for the first time. His grew wide and he almost choked on the gum he was chewing but he recovered quickly and looked down to type some things on the keyboard.

"Yeah it's right over there. Tell him to go three rows over," he said head still down.

Brooke just looked at the guy like he had three heads. Why was everyone staring at her like she was their dead relative or something? "Thanks…" she said hesitantly and walked back to him.

"Well?" he demanded.

"Three rows over," she commented as she absent mindedly started to fiddle with the ring that Andrew gave her for her birthday two months ago.

He nodded and started to walk over but stopped when he realized that Brooke was still standing there.

"Earth to Brooke! You coming or do you like that particular spot?"

She sneered at him and tugged gently on his hair as she found the CD before he did.

"Oh…" he said a little deflated that she found it before him.

"Now that…didn't take me three hours either," she said rubbing it in.

He made a face and went to the cashier. The man hung up the phone and went over to them, carefully only looking at the boy and not the girl. Brooke noticed this and started to look at him suspiciously. Before she knew it, Adam had her hand and dragged her out of the store.

"What was that about?" he asked as he started the car.

"What?"

"You were like dazed just staring that cashier…" he said.

"Well when I went up there the first time he did the same thing your mom and aunt did and like almost choked on his gum! And then he refused to look at me…."

"Ok…" he said not really following her train of her thought.

"I think there's something going on here," she put it bluntly.

He just smiled. "I think you're delusional," he said jokingly as he grabbed her hand.

"Adam! I'm serious!"

He sighed. "Look I don't know Brooke ok? Apparently you look like someone that they all happen to know or whatever."  
Brooke stayed silent and just looked out the window for a minute before giving in. "I guess," she said softly squeezing her boyfriends hand.

* * *

"I saw here," he said breathlessly over the phone.

"Gordo?" Matt asked confused.

"They were here at my shop…"

"Who?" he asked trying to follow him.

"Brooke! And some guy…" he said waving his hand.

Matt sighed and looked at Melina and Rachel who was still there, just a little uncomfortably.

"Gordo saw Brooke and Adam."

Melina just rolled her eyes and sighed. "This should be good."

Rachel looked at them confused but neither one of them said anything.

"Look, can I…"

"You want to come over so you can see for yourself," Matt said filling in the blanks. Gordo stayed silent and he took that for a yes.

Melina shook her head no but Matt ignored her. "I guess…." He said shrugging. Melina threw her hands in the air.

"I hope you know what you're doing!" she hissed at him before walking away.

Matt hung up the phone and turned to Rachel.

"Sorry, old friend," he lied.

"Umm…well when they get back could you just tell her to come home please?" she asked as she started to leave.

Matt nodded his head silently, almost thanking God that she was leaving. He didn't want her to be here when Gordo got here. That would just be a trip.

"Will do," he said attempting to be pleasant.

She opened the door and stepped outside as the kids pulled up.

"Great…" Brooke muttered in the car.

Adam looked at her. "What happened anyway between you two? I thought y'all got along great or something."

She sighed. "We do. Did. I don't know. She just started saying weird stuff like how she's not sure you're the one that I should be dating and stuff like that. I just don't know why she doesn't like you!" she said twirling her hair. She had picked that habit up when she got nervous, anxious or exasperated.

Adam cocked his head. "I never knew that…"

"Well what did you think she was gonna do? Come right out and say "hi Adam, you seem swell but stay the hell away from my daughter?' "?

He snorted. "Your mother hardly seems like the type to say something like that."

She just gave him a look and opened the door.

"Brooke! Where have-"

"Out," she said as she started to walk into the McGuire's house.

"Brooke Michelle DeWitt! Will you stop and talk to me?" her mother yelled.

Brooke froze and turned. "What?" she asked icily.

"I get that you're mad at me ok? But I am your mother and you treat me with respect! I had no idea where you were or what you were doing…."

"Well here I am. I'm fine. And I'm sorry but I don't feel like coming home right now!"

"You don't _feel _like coming home!" her mother repeated.

Matt opened the door to see the two women arguing and Adam just looking at them a little uncomfortable. To get to the door he would have to walk through the war zone and he was just fine where he was. The two women just stared at each other, each one pissed off. Matt gingerly stepped off his doorstep and approached them.

"I know this might not be the best time but Brooke is welcome to stay here for a couple of hours until you want her to come home…"

Rachel snapped her head up at him. Of course he'd be willing to take her…she was family after all right? Brooke just smiled triumphantly and smirked at her mother. Rachel squared her jaw and sighed.

"Fine," she said through clenched teeth and she turned on her heel.

Brooke sighed and looked at him. "Thanks Mr. McGuire."

He just smiled and nodded. Adam came up and took her hand and they walked towards the house.

Suddenly a car pulled up and a man stepped out with dark curly hair and he kind of had the whole grunge/skater look going on.

"Oh my God!" Brooke said.

"What!" Adam turned to her.

"It' the guy from the music store!"

"What?" Adam turned to look and he then turned back to Brooke.

"Ok so you might have been right about before…"

She smiled. "Told you."

Matt pushed past the two and started talking to the man in hushed tones before stepping forward a few minutes later.

"Adam, Brooke. This is Gordo. He was one of your aunts best friends and he's going to stay for dinner. I think it'd be best if-"

"Let me guess, we went out?" Adam put in.

"Actually I was going to say if you stayed but if you want to go out…" he said looking at Gordo.

Adam was taken aback. Usually when friends of his parents came they told him he could do what he wanted that night just be home before two. They actually asked him to stay this time…to him that was just a little weird.

"Alright," he said hesitantly before turning to Brooke. "Let me guess, Brooke needs to go though?" he asked trying to figure out what his dad was up to.

"No," Gordo spoke up.

The two teens looked at him like he had three heads and he tried to cover his mess up. "I mean it would be good if you had someone your age to hang out with. I'm not sure how exciting this is going to be…." He failed miserably.

Adam just rolled his eyes. "If Dad wants me to stay then something good is probably going to happen," he said as he started to follow the two men inside, Brooke straggling behind him.


	5. The Truth pt 2

a/n: wowww!!! so i didn't have this story on my laptop here at school and i had no idea what i wanted to do with this, i won't lie. but i'm taking a 'mothers and daughters' class up here at school and we just covered adoption and well...it got my juices flowing. i'm hoping that i'll be able to keep going with this story as i can see a little bit of a path starting to form as to where i want this to go. but i'm sorry that i took like...a year to update!!!! i'm not dead, i promise. R&R!!!! -nic

* * *

Chapter 5- The Truth pt. 2

"MOM!!"  
Rachel DeWitt lifted her head from the couch cushion where she lay watching television. The fight with her daughter earlier had not been fun and when Brooke comes in here screaming her name…well that won't be fun either. She sighed as Brooke appeared in the doorframe.  
"Yes?"  
"Tell me right now, am I adopted?" she crossed her arms and stared at her mother.  
Rachel's eyes went huge and she stared at her daughter. "What?"  
"You heard me," Brooke said quietly.  
"Where did this come from?"  
"Just tell me yes or no Mom."  
The older woman just closed her eyes and looked away. "Yes," she said very quietly.  
"What?" Brookes hard resolve seemed to shatter at the very syllable.  
"Yes…you are."  
Brooke just stood there staring at her mother with her mouth open, tears in her eyes, unable to say anything.  
"Come here," her mother patted the couch next to her and Brooke walked very slowly and stiffly over to it and sat down, staring straight ahead. "It was sixteen years ago when we adopted you. Your father gave you up, I don't know anything about your mother. The only thing he wanted was for you to keep your first name of Brooke. We didn't think it was that hard of a request so we did that."  
"Why didn't you ever tell me?" she whispered.  
"I was waiting for the right time…"  
"Oh really? Well it's been a little bit now Mom, when do you think the time will be right? When I'm getting ready to be married?! Did you think I would never find out??"  
"No! I was going to tell in time!! You just…seemed to be so happy I didn't want to bring you down by telling you this…and how did you find out anyway?"  
"Mr. McGuire told me," she shot her mother a dirty look. "How the hell does he know before I do huh? Does everyone in the fucking neighborhood know?!" her voice rising.  
"Brooke, I know you're upset but you better watch your language," Rachel said sternly as her daughter just glared her.  
"Well? How does he know and I don't? I only just started dating Adam like a month or so ago!"  
Mrs. DeWitt swallowed deeply, turned her head and sighed. "Because…he's related to you," she whispered.  
"…What…." Brooke was dumbfounded.  
"He's related to you. That's how he knows. He had no idea that we were even living around him until recently though. What did he say to you?"  
"It…wasn't him," Brooke faltered. "But the guy said that he knew my mother a long time ago from school and when I said that you didn't grow up around here and he got real quiet and said 'your other mother'."  
"Who did?"  
"A guy with curly hair that's like…in his thirties or something. I don't know," she shrugged. "And how am I related to the McGuires?" she cocked her head curiously.  
"Well you know how I told you that I didn't think dating Adam was such a good idea? It's because he's your cousin," she said bluntly and quietly.  
Brooke's eyes grew huge and she sat down on the couch with a thud. "His father is my uncle?" she asked softly.  
Rachel just nodded without saying anything, waiting for her daughters response. Brooke rose slowly from her spot on the cushioned object and slowly walked upstairs.  
"Brooke!"  
She just turned to stare at her mother and Rachel grew quiet.

* * *

"I can not believe that you said that to her!" Melena snapped at Gordo later that night.  
"Well I'm sorry but I'm looking at my daughter since the first time I saw her!! Yeah some things might just slip out!" he exclaimed in defense.  
"She didn't know she was adopted!!" Melena exploded and Gordo grew quiet.  
"She didn't?"  
"Oh that's great, now you start thinking. Welcome to the game Gordon," she shot him a dirty look before walking into the living room to see Matt there just lying on the sofa.  
"She really doesn't know?"  
"Nope. And it's not my place to tell her," Matt sighed. "It can't go on though. She's dating my son who's her cousin. That can't be healthy."  
"What's she like?" Gordo asked quietly.  
"What?" Matt looked up at him as he sat in the chair beside him.  
"What is she like?"  
Matt sighed again and gave the man a look. "Gordo you can't do that to her. You didn't want her. You can't just pop back up in her life sixteen years later and think that you're going to have a relationship with her. You gave her up because you didn't want to deal with her."  
"I was so young…"  
"Yeah. So was I," Matt pointed out. "In case you've forgotten we had Adam shortly after Lizzie died."  
"Maybe this was a bad idea to come here tonight…"  
"Things would have been fine if you didn't open your mouth," Melena said she came into the room and leaned against the doorframe with her arms crossed. "And frankly, I wouldn't blame her at all if she didn't give two shits about you Gordo. You gave her up for adoption. She has a family and if she wants to get to know her real one, me and Matt are here for that."  
"I'm her father Melena, you can't just expect me to be ok with you two taking my place…"  
"You can't just expect us to be ok with you giving up my sisters daughter because you didn't want her and then thinking you can just waltz right back in when she's older do you?" Matt said quietly, not looking at Gordo.  
"Matt," he said hoarsely.  
The younger man leaned his head up to look at Gordo who was staring at him.  
"You…mean that," Gordo said more as a statement than as a question as he looked into Matt's eyes.  
"You didn't want her then, you don't get her now," he said quietly. "Lizzie was my sister and I watch out for her. Since she's dead now, I get to watch out for her daughter, my niece."  
"Wow…Matt," Gordo said softly but the young man wouldn't meet his eyes. He had never seen Matt McGuire like this in all the years that he's known them and it was definitely a surprise.  
"I think you know the way out," Melena said softly casting a look at Gordo.  
He nodded his head slowly and started to make the silent journey out of their house.

* * *

Brooke raised her head from her pillow a few hours later as the sound of little pebbles hitting glass caught her attention. She went over to it and opened it to see Adam in the tree across from her window with a smile on his face.  
"Hey, can I come in to play?" he asked jokingly as Brooke sighed and walked away, letting him enter her room.  
"So what was all that tonight huh?" he asked as he sat down on her bed with her.  
She just stared at him. "You like me right?"  
"What?"  
"You like me right?"  
"Uhh…yeah. That's kind of I'm going out with you," he said giving her a weird look.  
"Well how much do you like me?"  
"Brooke…what's going on?"  
"Just answer my question."  
He sighed. "Babe, I've liked you since I first saw you at the party where you were fighting with your friend. Then I got to see your beautiful personality…" he pushed her blonde hair away from her face. "You know that I like you a lot. Now what's going on?"  
She just looked at him silently for a minute, sadness behind her eyes. "We can't see each other anymore," she said quietly.  
"What? Why? Did your mother say something again?? Because to be honest, I'll go against that Brooke. Nothing is going to keep me from seeing you…" he grabbed her hand as she started crying. "Brooke…"  
"You know how that guy tonight said that he knew my other mother and then just randomly dropped the subject?"  
"Yeah but I don't know what-"  
"I'm adopted Adam," she said cutting him off.  
"Woah…did you just find this out tonight?"  
She nodded. "I came home and pestered my mother until she told me."  
"I'm sorry babe but I still don't see what this has to do with us seeing each other…"  
"My real mother…not the one downstairs…well she died."  
"Ok…"  
"Just like how your aunt died."  
"My aunt drowned years ago. What are you getting at…"  
"Do you see a weird resemblance to me and your aunt at all?"  
"Uhh…haven't looked?" he answered looking thoroughly confused.  
"Your aunt is my real mother. The one that Gordo knew all those years ago that he went to school with…"  
Adams eyes went huge and almost fell off the bed. "What?! No…no way. My dad would have said something by now!"  
"Not if I didn't know I was adopted," Brooke pointed out.  
"Oh my God…" he sat there staring at her for a minute before he shook his head to release his daze.  
"So that makes us…cousins?" he whispered and she shook her head.  
"And that's why we can't be together," she said softly still crying.  
He just looked away, breathing hard, trying to sort all this out in his head.  
"I'm sorry…"  
"Brooke it's not your fault!" he cried as he wrapped his arms around her in a hug. "We just have to figure out…what the fuck to do now that's all…"  
"Brooke!" a knock sounded at the door before it was opened to reveal her mother standing there. "Adam-"  
"It's ok Rachel. We know," he said sadly and she nodded as she took in the scene of her daughter crying and him holding her tightly looking downtrodden himself.  
"I'm sorry," she said softly as she turned to go.  
"Yeah…me too," he replied. 


	6. Truth be told

Chapter 6- Truth be told

Brooke hopped up and went to the door to find a curly haired man on the other side. Her eyes widened and his breath caught.

"Bro-"

That was all he got out before the door was promptly slammed in his face.

"Brooke!"

"What?"

"Can you please open the door?!" he rested his head against the door.

"Why should I?"

"Because I want to talk to you."

"Oh and you didn't want to talk to me before? What the hell is that?!"

Silence finally sounded on the other side of the door and she breathed a sigh of relief as she turned to leave, happy that he finally left her alone.

"I'm sorry," he muttered and she froze.

"What?"

"I said I was sorry Brooke," he said louder.

"For what?" she crossed her arms.

"…Can you just open the door?" he begged as he knocked on the door.

"Give me a good reason to."

"Because you're my daughter and I want to see you," he said getting frustrated.

"Yeah well in case you haven't noticed you're a little late for all that," she snapped.

"So you're not going to open the door and talk to me?"

"Wow, you catch on quick don't you?"

"Fine. This was just a waste of time," he muttered.

"You're a waste of time," she muttered back as she walked back upstairs.

* * *

"I can not believe him!"

Adam poked his head out of the kitchen to see Brooke fly through the door and sit down moodily at the kitchen table.

"Who are we talking about?"

"Him! That guy…apparently my real father. Fucking bullshit," she cursed.

"Umm…" he looked a little embarrassed.

"What?" she looked at him.

"Well…."

"Brooke! Hi, I didn't expect to see you here," Matt said as he entered the room.

"Hi Mr. McGuire," she smiled at him.

"Call me Matt. How are you holding up?"

She shrugged. "Well, I just found out that my boyfriend was my cousin and apparently you're my uncle. Sooo I'm doing as well as can be expected I guess."

"I'm sorry that I didn't tell you, either one of you. I felt it wasn't my place, if your mother wanted to tell you, she would. When we moved here we had no idea that we were living down the street from you, that was just like…a bonus."

"Well I'd be lying if I said I wasn't mad," she said simply.

"I know and I understand that. But are you welcome here anytime Brooke. Technically we're family so…"

"Yeah…"

"That's just kind of weird Dad," Adam spoke up.

"Have you talked to Gordo yet?"

"Who?"

"Gordo. Your father?"

She snorted. "Why should I? He didn't want me then, he doesn't get me now."

"You don't know the whole story here Brooke…"

She just shrugged it off as though she didn't care as he walked into the room with two bowls.

"Hey Matt-"

"What?!" she stood up suddenly.

"Hi," he said softly as he stopped short when he saw her there.

She crossed her arms and glared at him, not speaking a word.

"Come on Brooke, you need to give him a chance," Matt said quietly.

"I don't need to do anything."

"I'm not a bad guy Brooke. I was very young when you were born and your mother had just…died. I couldn't handle a little girl!"

"You could have tried," she whispered.

Gordo hung his head and a glitter caught his eye. "Where did you get that?" he asked gesturing to the ring that adorned Brooke's hand.

"What?" she asked as she covered her hand.

"That ring. Where did you get it?"

"My cousin gave it to me for my birthday, so what?" she asked.

"Umm…by cousin, she doesn't mean me!" Adam put his two cents in.

"Shut up," she called back to him and he grinned.

"…I gave that ring…to Lizzie. Well I was going to. Until…well…" he trailed off and looked at the table.

"Ok and? I'm sure that there were other rings made like this," she rolled her eyes.

"It was really expensive. I doubt that your cousin paid nine grand for a ring for your birthday."

"What are you getting at?" she asked coldly.

"What's your cousin do for a job?" he asked instead.

"Matt!! Can you call off this psycho? If you're inferring my cousin is a thief I suggest you shut your mouth," she turned to her uncle.

"Gordo, what's up?"

He sighed. "I was going to give that to your sister as an engagement ring before she drowned and I left it after the funeral."

"Wait you left this ring at a cemetery and thought no one would pick it up? You are delusional, you know that right?" she snorted.

"What's your cousin do for a job Brooke?" he asked quietly.

She shook her head, blonde locks flying. "I'm not gonna stay here just so my family can be questioned. We're good people so you can go screw yourself. Gordo," she threw that name in there as a needle to prick him.

"Brooke," Adam started as she started to walk out the door.

She cut a glance at him and he motioned upstairs to his room and she sighed and followed him.

"You really don't like him at all do you?" he asked thoughtfully as he closed the door.

"Should I?"

He shrugged. "Well it's up to you really. I might cut him a little more slack. This isn't easy for him either."

"He just thinks that he's going to waltz into my life, introduce himself as my father after seventeen years and think I'll be ok with it? That's a joke."

He just looked at her for a minute and then shook his head.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just…really hard for me to be your cousin that's all."

She gazed at him. "I know what you mean," she said quietly as she sat down on his bed.

"I mean it's just so weird you know? This time a week and a half ago we were making out!"

"Well there's always that saying about kissing cousins," she teased.

"Oh yeah because THAT'S completely normal."

He shrugged. "We could just be different and shock people."

"Shock people. Yes," she laughed.

"Guys?" a knock sounded at the door as Matt opened it. "What's going on?"

"Nothing…"

"Brooke…we need to talk," he said after a pause.

The two teenagers looked at each other hesitantly and she got up and left the room with the older man.

"What's up?"

"I feel like I should tell you about your parents."

"My parents as in your sister and Gordo?" she raised her eyebrow.

"Yes. They knew each other back in elementary school and their other friend was Miranda-"

"Wait the Miranda that comes around here a lot?"

"The same person, she's something like a sister to me now. But they all knew each other from when they were very young and all through middle school Gordo had a huge crush on Lizzie. She was completely oblivious of course, and then high school came. Things started to spiral out of control for my sister and it…just was not pretty. She got big into drinking and partying all the sudden and kind of left Gordo out in the yard to clean up after her. I'm not sure when it happened but they got together at some point and she became pregnant with you and it did not sit well with her. She got very depressed as random people started to call her names and she was very lonely. Miranda kind of dropped out of sight after they had a fight and although she had Gordo…he was all she had. Oh…well I guess she had Kate too. But one day shortly before her due date Gordo went to their house to propose to her. What he found was…my sister…" he trailed off, getting choked up.

"You don't talk about Lizzie that much do you?" she asked gently.

He shook his head. "We weren't that close when we were younger but we got progressively closer until that happened. I know that you know that she drowned. But it's not the whole truth. What Gordo found that day was Lizzie in the bathtub. I walked in about three minutes later…"

"Wait. She was in the bathtub? Did she…drown herself?"

Matt nodded without saying a word.

"My biological mother…killed herself? When she was pregnant with me?" she asked softly.

Another wordless nod.

"And Gordo just…didn't want me or what?"

Matt sighed. "Well he named you Brooke because that was Lizzie's middle name and he wanted you to always have that part of her. He was only nineteen when all this happened and he was very scared. He didn't know the first thing about taking care of a child, especially when it was his with my sister and she wasn't there to help him. He could barely talk about you."

"Ok…"

"You do look a lot like her though. Especially after you died your hair blonde."

"So that's why Gordo freaked out when he first saw me. Me and Adam went to his music store and I asked him a question and he looked at me like he was seeing a ghost or something. I just thought he was a freak or something," she laughed a little bit.

"You took all of us by surprise, I will say that. The first I talked to Gordo in about three years was the day I met you and he told me to fuck myself. You were always a present thought…at least in my head, but I never thought I'd meet you. None of us did."

"Adam didn't know about me either."

"We didn't tell him because we thought he didn't need to know. Gordo gave you up for adoption, do you know how rare it is to find those kids?"

She shook her head. "This is just…unreal for me," she said softly. "I mean, what do I do now?"

Matt just smiled sadly at her. "That's up to you Brooke. You can do whatever you want. I love you and I'd love to have a relationship with you as would Melena and Miranda. As for you and Gordo…that's up to you. I personally think you should give him a chance. He's an ok guy and he's just as lost and confused as you are right now."

She sighed but said nothing for a second. "I'm not calling him Dad. I already have one of those."

Matt got quiet for a minute. He never expected her to warm up to Gordo instantly, much less refer to him as Dad but he realized that she had a dad…and a mother. And it wasn't the ones that she should have.

"But you, you can be my uncle," she said smiling at him.

He brought his eyes up to hers to see her smiling softly at him and wrapped his arms around his niece in a hug and didn't let go for a while.


End file.
